Fully Alive…Ready to Smile

posted by erin on Dec 18

1.  Definitely, definitely go shopping in the middle of the night!  Avoid the crowds, line ups and lack of shopping carts.  Walmart at 1:00 a.m. is pure bliss!  Regardless of the fact that I should have been in bed and am paying for it today…I got the last little bit of my Christmas shopping done and I had a great time doing it with Shelley.  We wandered around the deserted store just enjoying our time.  I DO find, however, that I spend money that would otherwise not be spent because I’m not in a rush and my brain is a little on the slow side with decision making so I don’t listen to the little voice in my head that says “Um, you don’t need that!”.  Case in point, Shelley and I both purchased a bit of a novelty item.  She mentioned that she had never done a paint by number.  Seriously?!  Who has never done a paint by number?!  I found us some kick a$$ paint by number kits and we both bought one and we are going to do them together before she up and moves across the country Isn’t it fun?  It’s called “Taste of Italy”   

2.  Do NOT buy your 3-year old a grey sweater dress to wear as her Christmas dress.  She will NOT like it.  I put what I thought was a lovely dress on my darling child and she immediately and vehemently exlcaimed, “I want to take it off because it’s not beautiful enough!!!”  Okay, then.  My mom has set a standard that will not be lowered by my girls.  So a few days later, Granny took her shopping to pick out a pattern and fabric…y.  Yes, Aidan got to have the final say in the choice, since apparently her opinion has sway.  Here’s what she chose… 

 Are we surprised?  I know, neither was I.  We seem to have a nasty case of princess syndrome in our household.

3.  We all know now that you MUST, MUST, MUST check your tree stand before putting a large-ish tree up with hundreds of ornaments and lights on it.  Otherwise you WILL decorate it a few times.  It’s back up and it’s as beautiful or more beautiful than it was the first time.  My total hours of decorating this formidable tree came to something ridiculous like 7 hours…over the course of a week.  The first time took me 3 hours and then after the dang thing fell I kind of lost heart for a while.  I would hang an ornament or two and then just sigh and walk away.  Finally, on Saturday, one week after the “incident” I just got it over with and finished.

4.  No matter how cold it is (freakin’ -43 (which is -45 F) with the windchill…I know, we are ridiculous to live here!) or whether or not your child has puked that day, Christmas concerts MUST be attended.  Ella was determined to say her line and she did such a wonderful job!  I’m so proud of her because she loves being on stage and speaks so clearly, while both myself and Jer are terrified of public speaking and always have been since we were small.  So this is unexpected and wonderful!  And by the way, SHE was quite happy with the outfit I picked for her to wear this Christmas.  

 5.  Take time to enjoy a sunset, nature or the beauty in the stillness.  With the busyness of the holiday season I think a lot of us forget to stop and be amazed at the gloriousness of creation around us.  We get so wrapped up in the consumerism and the parties and the go, go, go, that we miss moments that are truly spectacular.It may be -45 degrees, but isn’t it lovely in my backyard?  (for interest sake, those are in fact the actual colors of the sunset that night, no PhotoShop involved)

 6.  Take pictures!

It appears someone is following in their mama’s footsteps  (To see more of my recent pictures, please feel free to go here.) 

7.  Most of all, remember how blessed you really are.  Enjoy time with your family.  Cherish every moment because life is too short.  If you have children, these are the memories that will stay with them, make them special.  Since it’s looking to be rather busy for the next week, I will likely not be here.  So I wish you all a very blessed Christmas!